Hi all. I am wondering if there is a list of common homeschooling acronyms out there. I am a newbie so almost all of them are over my head. For example; DD(then an age) or DS(then an age). TIA

Wow! I am always amazed by what homeschooled kids do! It's good to know that U's welcome homeschoolers. Thanks, that was one of my concerns.

I need to break out of the whole "school" mentality. A hard habit to break. I asked him what he is interested in learning about this coming year. He was very excited about being asked that question. His "musts" are Latin and Chemistry.

I prefer the idea of college with his age peers but as you point out, that is a long way off. Lots of time to figure that out. The more I research, the more I realize how much flexibility there is with homeschooling. I am excited to see what adventures he takes us on! When we first told family and friends our decision to homeschool, they were not very encouraging. They said things like " You're brave" or " Have you thought of this type of school or that type of school" and" That's going to be difficult". Just not very supportive. We see our decision as a necessity for him. Regular school was not a good fit. I know there will be some bumps along the way and adjustments we will need to make but I truly believe this to be the right choice. I have explained this to everyone and they seem to get it now....at least they are coming across as they do!

One of my fears is paying for a bunch of tings then finding out that they don't work for us. I was unaware that there are free curriculums out there. Thank you for letting me know!

Thanks so much, I will check it out!

Thanks for the excellent info and advice! Concerning grade level, I am more wondering how homeschooling works once they reach high school levels and are thinking about colleges. Do grade levels and/or age matter?

Thanks, I just got it from the library!

Thanks for the great advice. I will definitely look into those suggestions. I am excited and nervous all at the same time!

Good point about the single grade level! I need to get out of that mentality now that I can choose what to teach. Thanks!

Hi all. We are totally new to the idea of homeschooling (decision made June 1st). Our decision to homeschool our 8yr old came after years of trying to find the right school fit for him. He has always struggled with behavior problems in the class but also does extremely well academically. We thought his problems were mainly due to boredom with the curriculum ( he already seemed to know the material they were teaching or mastered it quickly). His behavior, however, overshadowed everything else and that is all his teachers seemed to be able to focus on. This was extremely frustrating and emotionally draining for all of us, especially my son. We went ahead and tested for ADHD (which we were pretty sure he had based on his inability to sit still.....ever), giftedness and education testing (to see just where he is academically). Our plan was to take the results to the school in hopes that they would advance him to the grade he needed to be, not where his age dictated. Ha!!! He was diagnosed with ADHD. Gifted in visual/spatial area, but not overall gifted when all areas were combined. The educational testing shows him to be advanced in the majority of subjects with some weaknesses in math calculations and the humanities. Well, the school DID NOT want to advance him. Had all sorts of reasons why. We knew we had to homeschool when we were told what they are planning to do is give him "extensions" once he completes his 3rd grade classwork. That is the whole problem!!! He is already beyond that. He doesn't want to do the easy/non-challenging stuff and becomes a disruption to the class. Now I am researching homeschooling and feel totally overwhelmed! Not sure what grade level to choose. Do I get a buy a whole curriculum or pick and choose from different ones? I would love advice as I do not know any parents who homeschool or have kiddos like mine. Thanks!